


Polar opposites | Ben Hardy and Joe Mazzello

by oliau22



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF, Queen (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, And then Joe couldn't stop thinking about Ben's voice, Angst, Ben Hardy is like a strong bully, Ben is edgy as fuck, Ben is lowkey gay for Joe, But he doesn't want his friends to know because they thing he's straight, Cigarettes, Fluff and Angst, I don't like writing that, I'll mention them lol, Implied Relationships, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Joe Mazzello is soft, Joe has a voice kink and Ben sets that shit off so fucking hard, Joe helps Ben with homework, Joe is also a nerd, Joe is an agsnty dude with the big sad, Like Joe didn't even know he had a voice kink until Ben opened his mouth, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Maybe they'll be mentioned idk, No Roger and Brian sorry, Oof i'll probably write smut for this wtf, References to Depression, References to Drugs, Sub Joe, Teenagers, dom ben, probably no smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-10-10 12:51:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17426246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oliau22/pseuds/oliau22
Summary: Joseph Mazzello has a terrible home life. he lives with his deadbeat mom and his two siblings, who don't treat him as their brother.Ben Hardy is an English exchange student who lives with a kind family who takes care of him, he's popular and even landed a spot on the football team, but that doesn't keep him from being unhappy.as these two completely different kids get together their lives change for the better, or not?





	1. joe (1)

Joseph Mazzello wakes up with a jolt to his vibrating iPhone. it's ringing an unpleasant sound, reminding Joe to wake up for school. his first day of school in three months. Joe hated summer vacation. summer vacation meant staying home every day with his mom and terrible siblings. at least going to school allowed him to get away from them, but the bullying didn't stop at home.

Joe swung his legs over the side of his bed and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He reached for his phone so he could check what was going on on the social media platforms he frequented. when nothing too exciting showed up on his feed, Joe put his phone back down on his bedside table and walked to his dresser. he looked for a tee-shirt that was actually washed, and when he was unsuccessful, he rummaged through his hamper. finding a wrinkled band tee-shirt Joe looked at it with a crooked smile on his face and nodded his head.  _I guess I'll be wearing a ripped up queen tee-shirt on the first day of school, just another opening to get bullied._ he sighed.

when Joe made his way down to the stairs to the kitchen, he stepped as quietly as he could. if he woke his mom, he would surely get a beating for it. and he wasn't trying to go to his first day of school with a big old welt on his cheek, that'd just raise suspicion.

his brother was already sitting at the round wood table eating straight from the box of cereal. there goes my breakfast, Joe thought, just as his stomach growled. "oh hey big bro!" Joe's brother gave him a cheeky, cereal dotted smile. he was acting as if he hadn't beaten up Joe the day before, leaving his stomach covered in purple blobs. Joe might be older than John, but he still was skinnier, and weaker. his brother played baseball while Joe sat at home reading books about world war 2.

"hey," Joe mumbled while grabbing his bookbag. the redhead was sure he heard his brother say something before he walked out the door, but he was too excited to get out of the house. the redhead took the bus to school, and he hated that even more than being beaten up by his younger brother on the daily.

walking down the narrow bus hallway to his seat in the back of the bus, was like walking the walk of shame. sometimes people would stick out their foot and try to trip him, others would throw their remaining breakfast at him. Joe has never done anything wrong, he's just such a lowlife at high school that he's easy to pick on. the first day of school was no exception. when Joe's bus driver pulled up to his bus stop, a block away from his house, he shot an empathetic look at the redhead. he does that every morning. Joe gave his bus driver a weak smile and started his journey to the back of the long bus.

"hey fag!" was the first thing Joe heard when he entered. though there were 10 other kids on the bus with him Joe knew that slur was directed at him. everyone at school called him a fag. it must've gotten out somehow that Joe had had a crush on some boy in junior high, and now everyone calls him every slur word for gay there is. his brother, who stays at home and plays video games all day instead of actually going to school somehow figured out too, his beating from him that day was especially cruel. Joe ignored the nagging kids and the food flying at him by popping his off-brand earbuds into his ears. he pulled out his iPhone 4 and played the playlist he listened to 24/7. he pressed the _volume up_ button on the left side of his phone rapidly until it couldn't go any higher.

when the bus arrived at school Joe's stomach churned at the sight. tons of kids stood in the courtyard chatting with large groups of friends. lots of them had big smiles on their faces as the conversed with their friend's. Joe had a sinking feeling in his stomach that'd once again, he'd spend this year of high school, friendless. the bus stopped and kids started filing off as if their life depended on it. Joe always waited till the last kid was off the bus before he even stood up. he avoided many social situations this way. the redhead nodded at his bus driver, thanking him, and plopped down each step.

as he was walking towards the large school building that sat in front of him, a large body bumped into him, sending him flying to the ground. Joe's buttocks clashed with the hard cement, causing him to shriek out loud.

"woah there mate!" a deep English accent boomed from above him, "sorry I bumped ya," a cheeky grin was flashed at the boy laying on the ground. Joe furrowed his brow, this kid must be new, he thought, he's being nice to be there's no way he went to this school before. "need a hand yea?" the baritone voice asked again. the intensity of the blonde's voice sent shivers down Joe's spine. Joe had never heard a voice that deep, and it filled him with curiosity.

"uh, uh yeah," Joe stammered, reaching out to the large veiny hand hovering above him. the Englishman nodded and smiled, something that never happens to Joe. "thanks, I guess?" Joe questioned, letting go of the blonde's hand as quickly as he regained his balance. he didn't want anyone to see the other man with him, it might cause people to spread rumours about him and he didn't want that for a new student.

"the names Ben, by the way," Ben said, smoothing out his black, ripped jeans. he cocked his head as if to ask Joe a question.

"oh, uh, I'm Joe," Joe said after a second, it took him a while to catch on what Ben was asking him.

"nice to meet you, Joe," Ben said before running off to catch up with what Joe recognised as the football team.

Joe's heart fluttered for the rest of the day after that.


	2. ben (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben learns about how terrible Joe is treated as he gets used to American, public schools.

Ben Hardy walked up to the brown front door of his house. his book bag slung over one shoulder. the blonde turned the bronze doorknob and nearly tripped out the door. he had to get used to the steps right in front of the door. Ben's house at home didn't have any stairs outside, frankly, his house didn't have a front door since he lived in an apartment back in London. 

the bus ride was uneventful for Ben, it was pretty normal for Americans. vaping in the back, screaming slur words and taking snapchat videos of their friends. the casual American high school bus ride. Ben always took the public bus to school, riding it with a couple of strangers and maybe even a peer sometimes. Ben came to the conclusion that he enjoyed the bus rides back in England much more. they were way calmer, and it helped mood stay rather low-key. the bus ride he was on currently was not complete opposite of calm. students were running up and down the narrow space between the seats. some kids had brought speakers, huge, expensive speakers that blasted music so loud it made Ben's ears ring. the music they listened to wasn't even  _good,_ it was the new "mumble rap" thing that people listened to. it was basically a trap mix in the background and some dude mumbling in a monotone voice. Ben personally thought it was horrible.

Ben thought of putting his earbuds in, but the bus and other music were so loud he doubted he'd be able to hear a thing, even with his music all the way up. the blonde pouted and sunk lower in his seat. the bus was ten minutes away from school.  _ten more minutes Ben,_ Ben reassured himself,  _ten more minutes of this absolute bullshit._

when the bus finally pulled up the campus Ben felt a huge wave a relief flow through him. he could soon get off the hectic bus and get some well needed fresh air. his head ached like crazy by now.  _great, what a way to start school in the states,_ Ben huffed. his mood had shifted to an extent since he left his house this morning. he was excited and happy when he woke up, his first day of school in the US, it was an exciting thing for him. but the whole bloody bus ride made him not so excited for an American school. 

Ben and the 15 other people on his bus waited for the first bell to ring, insinuating that they had 6 minutes to get to class before the late bell rang. once it did, kids stampeded out the bus, stepping on Ben's feet ruthlessly. that only made him angrier. 5 or 6 more buses rested in front of his. the same thing going on there, kids running in all kinds of directions to get to their classes. someone caught Ben's eye. he was redheaded, but Ben couldn't get a good look at his face. the latter was looking at the ground, looking rather pathetic. he had black earbuds running from his ears to his back pocket. Ben had a weird longing to go talk to the other. for some reason, something was just  _screaming_  at him to go talk to the skinny redhead. then, Ben had an idea. he could run into the smaller man, help him up, and get some information out of him. like his name, that's all he needed to ask his football mates about him. 

Ben decided he was going to go through with his bizarre plan. the blonde pulled out his phone and stuffed his face in it, looking at the screen and nothing else. he walked in the general direction of the redhead, looking up every once in a while, not wanting to bump into the wrong person. soon, he was close to his target. Ben's footsteps sped up without him even noticing, and soon he was colliding with the boy he had his eyes laid on. the latter fell forcefully onto the ground, arse first. he let out an almost embarrassing screech (it was cute to Ben) as he looked around confused. "Woah there mate!" Ben said, keeping his tone light, but used faux surprise as well. he erected his hand toward the still surprised young man. the redhead accepted hesitantly, giving Ben a quizzical look. 

Ben decided now would be the best time to introduce himself to the boy he'd been eyeing for 5 minutes. "the name's Ben, by the way," he said, giving the other a cheeky smile.  _I think you're cute, and your eyes are so pretty oh my god._ the blonde cocked his head toward the other as if to ask him what his name was. it took the redhead a little bit, but he finally understood what Ben was hinting towards and introduced himself as well. 

"Oh, uh, I'm Joe," he said in a tone that almost sounded ashamed. Ben expressed how it was nice to meet him before he left to go meet up with his mates, he planned on asking them about him later. 

~

Ben didn't realise he had his 1fst period with his new lad Joe until the redhead walked in 3 minutes late. he heard a few people snicker around him, but he didn't think too much of it, he just thought they were laughing at something else. Joe walked in with his head down. he looked clearly embarrassed that he walked in late for his first day. Ben studied the young man. he was extremely tense, and his posture was extremely poor. his bookbag seemed to weigh more than with the way his skinny body seemed to barely hold it. Joe's hair covered most of his forehead, anything lower than his eyebrows were visible though. his face was very soft, frankly everything about his face looked soft, his lips, his cheeks, his eyes. super light freckles dotted only the bridge of his nose, and his green-ish, hazel eyes contrasted perfectly with his wavy red hair. Ben smiled, but soon his smile faded when heard a loud  _thump_  and could no longer see Joe. laughter erupted through the classroom as Joe stood up to the left of Ben. the whole class seemed to think that Joe falling was the funniest thing ever.

"Joseph this isn't funny, sit down." their teacher said as she stood up from her desk, her face twisted in frustration. Joe looked up for the first time.

"miss I was trippe-" he tried to confess but was rudely interrupted by her once again.

"just take a seat, I want none of this," Joe huffed and dropped another piece of paper, more snickers echoed through the classroom. Ben felt anger build up in him, he disagreed with the way his teacher was treating his new found friend. Joe sat behind Ben, he heard the latter shuffling behind him, along with sniffling. the blonde didn't want to think Joe was crying, and he didn't want to turn around and embarrass himself either. 

a strange noise came from behind Ben, and then a whisper, "read it  _gaylord._ "  _gaylord?_ Ben asked himself,  _who could that be directed to?_  Ben asked himself. this time he allowed himself to turn around, all the commotion behind him gave the blonde no choice. then all the answers to his question were answered. there was Joe, sitting with a crumpled paper right in the middle of his desk,  _oh, that's where the noise came from,_ Ben realised. he studied the scene more but he couldn't tell where the voice came from. the sound of the paper ball being opened perked Ben out of his quick trance. Joe looked at the paper for a second, his neutral expression turning into an angry one, then to a rather depressing one. then the paper was being fisted back into a ball shape. Joe stuffed it in his book bag before he rested his head down on the desk. 

000

2nd period was harder for Ben, he didn't know anyone in that class so he spent the whole 50 minute period thinking of what happened with Joe in his last period. Ben had many, many questions. he couldn't stop thinking about how Joe was treated by his peers and even his teacher. it was disappointing on his end because the kids that were messing with the redhead and become close friends with Ben over the summer, and he'd never seen them act that way. that made him think even more. 

3rd period flew by even quicker. Ben had a few mates in that class, but still no Joe. which kind of disappointed him. over the 3 hours that Ben had known the kid, he had already grown quite fond of him. 

Ben fidgeted with his pencil while he stared down the maths worksheet he was supposed to be doing. but instead of doing the worksheet the blond could not stop thinking about the pretty redhead that he just met. anything he thought of just somehow went back to Joe. Ben huffed in frustration when the bell rang and he still hadn't gotten a question done, that meant he had homework. 

when lunch finally rolled around Ben took the opportunity to ask his mates about Joe. "hey guys," Ben said, sitting down and stuffing a large slice of pizza into my mouth. his friends all looked at him as he plopped down into a chair.

"yes Ben?" his friend Gwil asked, "what do you need?" Gwil was the nerdy guy on the football team. being junior, one year higher than Ben and a majority of the football team, he didn't get picked on for the way he acted. (thinking about Gwil getting picked on reminded Ben of Joe, he really  _couldn't_  keep the other off his mind). Gwil was the friend that volunteered to house an English exchange student, and that's how Ben became friends with  _literally_  the whole football team. 

"who's that Joe kid?" he asked, taking another huge bite of his pizza, this time washing it down with some water. a laugh came from the other side of the table, Ben's friend Rami was snickering at the mention of Joe's name. "what's so funny about him? I don't get it." Rami spoke up this time.

"well, he's such a fuck up he's fun to make fun of," the Egyptian laughed. Ben's blood boiled at that. that was the same treatment he witnessed Joe getting in his 1fst period. "he's also gay," Rami added like it made anything better. the add-on made Ben so angry that without a word he stood up, pushing his chair away with a force, and walked away. he completely ignored the other's pleas for him to come back and sit with them. 

Ben had no clue where Joe could be, but he figured that in every cliche highschool movie the bullied kid eats lunch in the bathroom, so that's where he'd look first. sure enough, when Ben reached the bathroom he found a cowering Joe, sitting on the disgusting bathroom floor, eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Ben's heart sank when he saw this. 

"Oh shit, I'll uh, I'll just go," Joe tripped on his words as he saw Ben storm in. the redhead quickly packed up his things and stood up with a jolt.

"no! don't go," Ben said, more pathetically then he intended. "I came in here looking for you actually," he said looking at his feet. he felt like a whole new person talking to Joe. Ben felt vulnerable but in a good way, he felt like he didn't have to be all macho with the latter. it was a good feeling. with his football friends Ben had to act like he was all hard and tough, and if he shared his feelings he was considered a  _pussy._  which made him bottle up all his feelings, kind of making his summer an emotional rollercoaster. 

Joe looked up at the blonde. he had ended up back on the gross bathroom floor again. Ben sat next to him. 


	3. joe (3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> joe and ben walk home together

**(trigger warning: mention of verbal abuse, physical abuse, and alcoholism, use of slur words and mention of sexual themes.)**

Joe Mazzello couldn't stop thinking about the bus ride home. Joe would rather be at school than at home. his mother would be awake by the time he got home, drunk, but awake. this means he'd have to deal with her, which is something he doesn't want to have to do after his day at school. Joe frowned as he walked up to the main doors of the school. students stampeded it, making it almost impossible to make it outside without getting something knocked out of your hands, or bruises. Joe concluded that he'd stay back for a while, maybe loiter by his locker to wait out the chaos that occurred at the doors.

Joe unlocked his locker and opened up this bookbag. the redhead emptied his bag of stuff he wouldn't need for homework, like notebooks, empty folders and stuff similar. soon his bookbag was conveniently lighter than before. he sighed in relief when he saw the hoard of high school students had died down. people were able to walk out without being pushed around at this point. Joe looped his fingers around the straps of his bookbag and started towards the front door of his high school. "Joe! Joe wait!" Joe heard his name being called. startled he looked around to see if he was going mental or if there was an actual person telling him to wait. then he saw him, the muscular blonde that tore through him that morning. Joe felt his face heat up as latter jogged closer to him, the redhead studied his face. he hadn't gotten a good look at it before, they just had a quick exchange in the parking lot and in the first period.

"h, hey Ben," Joe tripped on his words. he looked at his shoes in embarrassment, but his face heated up more than it had already when he noticed he was wearing two different pairs of  _Chuck Taylors._ he must've accidentally slipped on two different colours when he was getting ready in a hurry that morning. the redhead looked up back at Ben, only to make eye contact with the Englishman, which made things more awkward on Joe's part. 

"why are you still at school, Maz?" Ben asked, stuffing his hands violently into his pockets. Joe blushed at the nickname. at school his nickname wasn't Joey, or Maz, or something like, it was faggot or fag, or even queer.  he couldn't help but smile. "Joe, why are you still at school, the buses left like," Ben stopped to think, "like three minutes ago," Bens bass voice woke Joe back into reality, realising that he had been hiding from the herd of students for a while.

"shit, really?" he asked, frantically closing his locker. "moms gonna killed me if I'm not home on time," he whispered under his breath. Ben looked at him with a worried crease in his brow. "wait don't you take the bus too?" Joe remembered Ben running into him in the bus line earlier that morning. Ben nodded.

"Yeah, mate, I bus, but really hated my first American bus ride, so I'm walking." Ben smiled, his thick English accent soothing Joe. Joe nodded, he completely understood what Ben was going on about. he was normally yelled at the second he got on the bus, he was yelled at, and if he wasn't yelled at enough at home, the yelling on the bus sure was. 

"Yeah, I get that, uh, I guess I have to walk home to then," Joe stammered, looking back down at his mismatched Chucks. he shifted his bookbag awkwardly on his shoulders, trying to feel as comfortable as he could. "maybe we could walk home together uh only if you're not busy or anything you know, it's okay if you don't I mean, it's just a suggestion, I'm fine with going on my own, I just wanted to know if you'd like to go uhm," Joe blurted out quickly, regretting everything he said the second he opened his mouth.

Ben chuckled with his deep voice, "I'd love to Joe," he said with a sympathetic smile on his face, "but if we end up too far from my house, we're gonna have to split, I hope that's okay," his smile grew larger as he lightly hit Joe on his left arm, "you gotta loosen up a bit lad, you're too tense," Joe gave the feisty blonde a weak smile and proceeded to look at his shoes again. 

the two walked out of school by themselves. most of the students had already filed out, leaving the doors completely accessible for anyone to walk through. Joe didn't talk much on the way home, but the silence that occupied the two wasn't awkward, it was comfortable and soothing. Ben often talked to Joe, not caring if he received a response or not, since he knew no response or response, Joe was listening. he had that vibe off him, that he listened to you no matter what you had to say, and if he replied or not. that calmed something in Ben. he never had a friend like that, all of them bottled up their feelings until it became too much. 

when the pair made it to Joe's house, the realised how close they lived to each other, that maybe they could walk home every day instead of taking that dreaded bus ride from school every day. 

Joe didn't want Ben to come inside. he knew his mom would go right to yelling when he walked in the door, asking him ' _why are you so late? where would you, you dumb rat? what the fuck have you been doing, school got out 30 minutes ago? who's this boy you've got here, huh? screwing him like that one kid in middle school, you dirty fag?_ Joe's eyes gathered tears just from the thought as he  _insisted_ Ben didn't come inside with him. hell, he had just met the blonde. and as much as he wanted him to be able to hang out he didn't want Ben to have to see what he went through. he didn't want their friendship solely built on sympathy and pity. "no Ben, you don't wanna come in, my uh, my house is a terrible mess and you'd be disgusted I promise." Joe lied. Ben gave him a suspicious nod.

"fine Maz, but I'll get into that house soon," Ben shot a finger gun at the shorter male and hopped down the porch steps, "see you at school tomorrow Joey," Ben left with a flashy smirk on his face, making Joe's face heat up. Joe loved the nicknames that Ben had started calling him, he felt like an actual human being around the blonde. 


	4. ben (4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ben walks home with joe

Ben Hardy ran as quick as he could down the long hallway of lockers. he observed the redhead from miles away, wanting to catch up with the latter. Ben was confused on why the sophomore was still at school though, he knew he took the bus, but the busses had already left. the blonde called out for Joe a few times, requesting that he wait. when Joe turned around and saw the blonde, Ben's face lit up. he smiled at the stiffened redhead who was clearly startled by the sudden shouting. Ben's steps grew heavier when he slowed himself down to reach Joe.

"h, hey Ben," Joe said, stumbling on his words. he looked down in embarrassment. looking at Joe in the state he was in, Ben's face heated up a bit, making him smile. Joe looked so innocent, just standing there looking at his mismatched shoes (Ben only just noticed when Joe had looked down). Joe's two different coloured shoes was another cute thing that Ben soowned over, he let himself think about what exactly happened with the shoes. did he wake up too late and dress in a hurry, accidentally mismatching his shoes? or was it some type statement that Joe was making, that he didn't care that his shoes didn't match? Ben laughed at himself mentally, he knew it was the first one, he knew he was over thinking the situation, but he couldn't help himself.

"why are you still at school Maz?" Ben asked. he stuffed his hands in his pocket forcefully, not knowing what exactly to do with them. he felt oddly awkward just letting his hands dangle, so resting them into his pockets was his best choice. Ben repeated himself when he realised that Joe had gone into a trance, not responding to his previous question. Joe popped out of his phase, his eyes widened at the realisation the busses left.

"shit, really?" genuine concern showed up in his eyes. Ben allowed himself to think again, why would he be so worried about the busses leaving him behind. Joe continued to express that his mum would kill him, and Ben sincerely hoped she wouldn't  _actually_ kill him. "wait, don't you take the bus too?" Joe questioned, his face changed from concern to quizzical. Ben nodded his head, saying yes to Joe's question. Ben answered his questions, explain that he hated his first day on the bus. Ben genuinely couldn't wait to walk home in peace and quiet, maybe pop his earbuds in, breathe in some late summer air. but he knew he wouldn't mind if Joe was there, in all honesty, Joe's the one and only person Ben would be able to stand at the moment.

Joe looked down at his shoes, rocking back and forth on the soles of his feet. "maybe we could walk home together," Joe suggested, continue to ramble on and on, even telling Ben he didn't have to if he didn't want to. that broke Ben's heart. the fact the Joe thought he wouldn't want to walk home with his heart drop.

"I'd love to, Joe" Ben cut off Joe's rambling. he gave him a whole-hearted smile. he lightly slapped the redhead on the shoulder as he turned away from him slow enough for Joe to quickly jog up next to him.

the two walked down sidewalk-less streets, not saying much. Ben talked for a while, though not getting a response from the shorter, Ben knew he was listening. it was obvious that Joe was listening to Ben's strange, random aloud thoughts. he had a kind of  _look_ to him when he was listening. he had a content smile on his face when he looked at Ben. when they made eye contact, Ben felt his cheeks heat up.

the pair finally made their way to Joe's small, two-story house. Ben studied it for a second, looking at the two steps that lead up to a large door that entered into the home. the red-brownish bricks lined the whole exterior of the building.

Ben offered to walk Joe inside, but he received a reaction that he wasn't expecting. Joe's personality went from neutral to frantic and nervous. his explanation for why Ben couldn't go inside was completely different from his mood swing. he just told Ben that his house was messy and unattractive. Ben insisted but was once again shut down by the redhead. he frowned and finally gave in. "fine Maz, but I'll get into that house soon," he said enthusiastically. Ben pointed his finger forcefully at the shorter redhead.

Ben shot one last charming grin at Joe and turned around. the blonde walked at a normal pace all the way back to his house. he was greeted with positivity by the people who were taking care of him till he graduated. they asked him about his day, and he made sure he was able to gush about the redhead he had just met. he couldn't stop thinking about him for some reason. though they had just met there was something about Joe that just intrigued the hell out of him. Ben smiled at the thought of the shorter redhead.

the blonde grinned, he was excited to see Joe the next day.


	5. joe (5)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> joe almost gets beat up

**a few weeks later**

Joe Mazzello couldn't stop thinking about Friday. unlike most high schoolers, Joe fucking  _hated_ Fridays. It wasn't because of the day, he liked Fridays in that context. Fridays at school are chill, lowkey. most teachers are just as done with the school week as everyone else is. what Joe hated so much about Fridays is that it meant he'd have to spend two whole days with his drunk of a mom and both of his mentally and physically abusive siblings. two days doesn't seem that bad, but after a beating from a younger brother lasts twenty minutes and happens consistently, two days drags on  _way_ too long. 

Joe sighed heavily as he watched the back of Ben's blonde head. he sat in front of Joe in their first period. Ben was probably the only thing that motivated the redhead to wake up in the morning at this point. Ben Hardy. the muscular but soft blonde that walked him home every day. at first, Joe was sceptical about him, he hung out with the jocks, the whole football team. they were the group that picked on him the most. if his eye wasn't black enough from his brother, the football team made sure it was. Joe huffed, he couldn't believe someone like Ben was accepted into a group of people like the football team. those guys were hard, soulless men. Ben was more, soft, gentle. Joe remembered the day before, Thursday. Joe had just gotten jumped by two of the largest football players, their intention, to "make him fucking bleed." well they did indeed make him bleed. the two jocks busted his lip and punched him so hard in the nose that it nearly broke. Ben wasn't there to witness the beating, (he never was, Joe thinks he avoids the fights on purpose so he doesn't look bad in front of his friends) but he was there after. Ben kissed Joe's cheek, though he wasn't struck there, Ben knew Joe was oddly comforted by his light cheek kisses.

Joe replayed the incident in his head. the whole thing was bittersweet. he got an adorable kiss out of the blonde, but he did end up with a wicked bruise after.

once the bell rang, Joe saw some of Ben's sporty friends walk up to him. both of the men were tall, they had Letterman jackets with big flashy metals on. one guy, who was a tall, lanky brunette, had a girl on his arm, but he barely paid attention to her.  _man, if I had someone that beautiful hanging on my arm, I wouldn't ever take my eyes off._  Joe didn't realise he was staring until he caught the tall man's eyes. the redhead felt his life flash for a second as he watched the now fuming jock stomp over to him, leaving his girl behind. "hey fag!" the brunette yelled a little too loud for how close he was, "I know you're queer, but what are you doing staring at my girl, huh?" he asked, anger boiling in his words.

"I, I uh," Joe stammered. he couldn't form a decent sentence. the tall brown haired male intimated him to the max, Joe's surprised he was able to speak at all.

"com'on fag! what do you have to say for yourself?" the angry man spat. Joe tried to get a glance of Ben over the brunette's broad shoulders. Ben looked extremely torn like he wasn't sure if he should stand up for Joe, or leave him to get pounded into a wall.

Joe was pleasantly surprised when he heard Ben's deep voice echo through the now almost empty classroom. "Gwil mate, leave him be," Ben walked cautiously over to the anger fueled football player.  _Gwil_ , Joe thought,  _his name is Gwil._  Gwil swirled around violently, now showing his back to Joe.

"Ben, stay out of this, why do you care anyway, he's just a little faggot." Gwil snarled, swinging his hands angrily. Ben's protest seemed to catch the other friend off guard. the other man was a fairly skinny, not white, but not dark skinned, brunette. he sat on a desk, watching the situation unfold. this was the first time Joe was actually paid attention to Ben's other friends. to him they were nothing but people who beat him up, never cared to know their names or anything about them. 

"I care because," Ben paused as if he was thinking about how to finish his sentence. for a second Joe was sure he would back down and just let the pair beat him to a pulp, but when he spoke up again Joe  couldn't help but let a small, weak smile appear on his face. "I care because he's my friend guys," Ben said, this time speaking to both of the jocks instead of just Gwil. "we've been hanging with each other since the first day of school." the blond confessed. Joe didn't realise how beautifully amazing Ben's voice was. it was so deep and smooth, and his English accent just made it 100% better. 

"that's why he asked us about him at lunch that one day," the unknown jock spoke up. now he was sitting crossed legged on the tan desktop. "and that's probably why he was so concerned when I called him a fag." he spoke once again, the word 'fag' caught Joe's attention this time. he didn't know why it was so different when he heard it this time, he's been basically desensitised to that word. but this time it wasn't used to mock him or make him feel bad, it wasn't even directed at him. Joe didn't understand but the whole atmosphere of the room changed once Ben had confessed to being Joe's friend. and that's another thing, Ben called Joe his  _friend._ In his whole high school career Joe had never had a  _friend._ yeah, he was only a sophomore, and he still had two more years of high school to change that. but Ben called him his  _friend._

"Yeah, that's why," Ben looked down at his feet for a second, kind of like he was ashamed to admit that Joe was his friend. Joe didn't really mind that though, being Ben's friend was enough, even if he was a little ashamed of him. Ben looked up from his shoes and turned to the unknown jock, "and Rami, there's nothing wrong with being gay you twat," his voice soft, like normal, but it was harsh and angry.  _hm, Rami, that's his name._

Rami avoided eye contact with Ben, like he shying away from the all of a sudden assertive blonde. "so, what are you like, sleeping with him or something?" Gwil asked Ben and Joe, but not directing it at an exact person. Ben scoffed. 

"are you joking?" Ben spat, clearly disappointed but not surprised with what Gwil had to say. Joe was used to this kind of treatment, but it was clear that Ben had never experienced anything like this. "no we're not fucking screwing," Ben said, his English accent making his sentences sound humorous. Joe had to stop himself from letting a snicker slip from his mouth. 

the bell had rung minutes before and all four of them were terribly late for class (Gwil's girlfriend had left before the late bell rang). the classroom that they were in wasn't used during the second period of school, so if they wanted to skip and yell back and forth at each other they could. 

after Ben had scolded Gwil, the tall brunette raised his hands and surrendered. "damn alright sorry man," Gwil said, his voice laced with a mocking tone.

"If you want to stay friends with me," Ben said, now speaking to Gwil and Rami, "I'll have you know, you won't beat the shit out of Joe anymore. Gwil I know someone who has your dick pics and I am not afraid to use them."  _damn,_ Joe smiled,  _Ben went off._ Gwil looked surprised when Ben threatened to blackmail him. it wasn't a surprise that his nudie pics were circling around, but it was a surprise that Ben threatened to use that against him. like Joe keeps saying, Ben's soft, he's not the type to do that at all. 

once again Gwil raised his hands in defeat. "okay, you're the boss." Gwil walked up to Joe and  _playfully_  smacked him on the shoulder. "see you later champ. how 'bout lunch?" Joe swallowed and nodded. though he knew Gwil wouldn't beat him up with Ben in his protective state, he still didn't want to say anything to aggravate the taller, so he just nodded in agreement. and with that Gwil and Rami, both walked out the nearly vacant classroom.

"that was uh, pretty badass," Joe chuckled, looking down at his feet. his face was warm all of a sudden and he figured it was because he was alone with Ben. that man made his feelings wack. 

Ben smiled and laughed, "yeah, I guess it was," the blonde walked over to the desk he was sitting at and grabbed his book bag. he lunged it over his shoulder and walked back over to Joe. "you know I did that because I actually like you." Ben said, not breaking eye contact with the shorter redhead. "like, I'm not fake," Ben specified. at first, Joe thought Ben was confessing a crush on him. that's kind of what he was hoping for as well. but just having someone like Ben stand up for him was fulfilling enough. "not that I uh, don't like you in a different way though." that last sentence caught Joe off guard.

"you what?" he asked, his voice squeaked. he wasn't expecting something like that. Joe assumed Ben was straight, like 100% straight. 

"I said that I like you, Joe." Ben smiled. Joe couldn't believe what he was hearing.

maybe Friday's were going to be better after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ooooh how's lunch with the jocks gonna be??


	6. ben (6)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ben and joe have lunch with the football team

Ben Hardy feared how his lunch period would go. he knew the majority of his friends made it a daily thing to pick on his new friend Joe. inviting the redhead to the table could end up well, there's a possibility Ben's mates might actually take a liking to the boy. or it could end up terrible and he'd have to choose between the two. and how could he do that? choose between his group of friends that he spent his whole summer with or some quiet, lonely boy who has no friends, that he just met. honestly, Ben prefers Joe's company over the large group. there were many reasons why Joe was better than them, too many to count.

the blonde didn't have much time to comprehend what happened in his previous class. Joe was confronted by the normally calm, nerdy Gwilym Lee, but he wasn't himself. Ben had never seen him that way. Ben knew the football team (AKA most of his friends) wasn't the nicest to Joe, but he never expected Gwil to get so aggressive when he saw Joe looking at the girl clinging to him. the weird thing is that wasn't even the brunette's  _girl_  she was just some girl that hung around them. her and Gwil were closer than anyone else was to her in the group, but they weren't a thing. 

Ben had his present period alone. well, he wasn't  _alone_ he just wasn't personally involved with anyone in that class. he might say "hi" to a few acquaintances from over the summer, but he didn't consider then actually friends. the blonde had acquired quite a fame over the three months before school, and the few weeks he was at school. his foreign accent seemed to drag in ladies, and his muscular build seemed to attract the  _sporty_ kids at all times. but Ben wasn't interested in any of the ladies that had approached him in the past three weeks, swooning over his deep, heavy accent. to his surprise, he wasn't even attracted to any  _ladies._ Joe was the only thing on his mind 24/7. it was unintentional. hell, Ben didn't even know that he liked boys. and maybe he didn't. but there was something about Joe Mazzello that shifted something in his head. it was extremely confusing for the blonde and sometimes left him laying in bed at night staring up at the white, plain wall. 

before Ben knew it the bell was ringing loudly, breaking Ben's trance. he packed up his notebook and number 2 pencil, stuffing them messily into his bookbag. he had lunch next period. his anxiety would be wracking at his brain the whole time. Ben sat through history in a sleepy trance. he ended up missing important notes, but he knew he wouldn't have been able to concentrate through the anxiety for lunch. when the bell had rung, announcing the end of his history class, (which he shared with Rami, who noticed something was definitely off about Ben) and the beginning of lunch, Ben slowly picked up his notebook, leaving his number 2 pencil behind without even noticing. 

"Hey Ben," an anonymous voice called from the doorway. at first Ben had no clue who it was, but looking up he felt a slight grin stretch onto his face. Joe sat up against the door frame, his bookbag hanging off one shoulder and a clearly heavy textbook wrapped into his thin arms. Ben couldn't help but feel slightly jealous, how he wished he could be that Spanish textbook. 

"hey, Maz," Ben smirked, allowing his voice to sound rather cocky. he didn't want Joe to cue in on how flustered he actually was. Joe smiled at Ben and shuffled towards the blonde. he dropped the thick textbook down on the deck that sat to Ben's left. "are you gonna tag along at lunch then?" Ben asked. part of him wanted Joe to join him, so maybe his mates would actually like the ginger and respect him. but at the same time he didn't want Joe to come, because there's the possibility that he could get rejected by them (kind of already has) and things could turn for the worst. "uh, I mean you don't have to," Ben added last minute, he didn't want Joe to feel like he was pressured.

Joe let out a high pitched sigh, "I'll give it a try, just for you Ben," the redhead winked.  _damn, where did all this confidence come from?_ Ben's heart skipped. no one had ever done something  _just for him._  that was just something that didn't happen. 

"okay mate, then we should get going before the lads think we ditched 'em," Ben joked, trying to hide his obvious nerves. while the two were walking down the long hallways, Ben couldn't stop thinking about the terrible ways this could turn out. 

the pair finally made it to the crowded lunchroom. Ben spotted the football team, two spots were open, obviously for him and Joe. his nerves were eased when he saw that. the open spots hopefully meant the team was open to allowing Joe into their group, but Ben wasn't so sure. Ben and Joe decided to get something to eat first, though there wasn't much left since they were about 3 minutes late. they both purchased lunch and walked right to Ben's daily spot, Joe tagging right along. 

"Hey guys," Ben chuckled nervously, hoping the group wouldn't say anything to embarrass Joe. some of the team looked at each other quizzically when Joe plopped himself down next to Ben, a small grin on his face. 

"whos' this?" asked a brunette from across the table. he had striking green eyes and a small smirk plastered on his face. Joe observed his body language, and he came to the conclusion that the man was trying to get a rise out of Ben. Ben scoffed but ignored the smart question 

"Allen, this is Joe, he is my new mate, and I wanted you guys to get to know him because you all seem to have opinions about him," Ben spoke up, looking in Joe's direction. he was innocently poking at his soggy slice of pizza, debating if he should risk the stomach ache later or eat it. Joe completely ignored the snickers coming from the table. Ben found himself speechless, at a loss for words. the whole situation was awkward and frankly, no one knew what to say. 

"Hi everyone," Joe finally broke the terrible silence. "I know most of you have or planned or maybe still plan on beating me up, but would you do me a favour and wait a bit? I got this wicked bruis-" 

"wicked," Gwilym snickered. "you've known Ben for three weeks and you're already speaking like a Birt," he laughed out loud, the majority of the table joining in. Ben even caught himself chuckling at the sentence, his nerves at ease. 

"so Joe, tell us about yourself," Rami spoke up before stuffing a huge carrot into his mouth. his girlfriend, Lucy, sat next to him, she was grinning at Joe directly. Ben didn't know why she had her eyes fixated on Joe but he assumed it was because she was zoned in her own thoughts. 

Joe took a deep breath like he was thinking. "uh, I don't know what to say," he tapped on his chin, puckering his lips out every once in a while. "what do you all want to know." Joe asked. he wasn't the most interesting person in the world, sure he had a few talents but none of them were first impression worthy. he didn't know if asking that question was a good idea or not, but after the first question was blurted out he deemed it bad. 

"are you actually a fag or is that just a rumour?" one of the biggest people at the table spoke up. Ben furrowed his brow as he watched Joe tense up. Joe saw the way the football player looked at him, his eyes had a longing glare to him. at first, Joe thought he was trying to mock him or just take the opportunity to call him a fag, but upon further inspection, he saw genuine confusion and decided to answer.

"uh," Joe let out a breathy laugh, "I guess?" he said, squinting his eyes a little, "frankly, I'm confused, but I've never been with anyone to determine it 100%," Joe said truthfully. the table all of a sudden silent. this was new information to everyone, including Ben. he knew Joe was gay(ish), but Ben didn't know the latter had never been with anyone. 

"so, does it hurt your feelings when people call you fag?" Allen asked, he didn't seem like he was trying to be rude, or id he was trying to mock the ginger, but he seemed like he genuinely wanted to know. 

"no, I've gotten used to it though," Joe answered. "I hear it so much every day that I learn to block it out," the redhead gave a weak smile to no one specifically and ate a carrot. 

the question session went quite well in Ben's opinion. after all the 'faggot' talk everything seemed to get better from there. but Ben would have to see what all his friends thought when Joe wasn't there. 

 

000

 

Ben jogged his way to Joe's locker. he's basically memorised its location by now and can get to it from anywhere in the high school. he was quite proud of himself for that. when he approached Joe the other was leaning up against the wall, reading a large book. Ben couldn't care less about reading and didn't even want to engage in a conversation about it so he just waited for Joe to finish his sentence and close his book. "Hello Ben," Joe smiled, quirkiness in his tone. Ben returned a smile.

"Hello Maz," the pair started walking towards the exit of the high school, both of them more than ready to leave. "what did you think of lunch?" Ben questioned when they finally made it out of the building. 

"I don't think they like me," Joe confessed. "but I'll sit at any table you sit at," he flashed an excited smile at Ben and then focused his eyes back on the sky. the two walked like that for a while in silence. normally Ben did all the talking while Joe looked at him and listened with a huge grin on his face. but this time they just walked quietly at each other's sides. 

eventually, the pair made it to Joe's house. Ben, once again pryed at Joe. practically begging him to let Ben just get a peek at "what Joe Mazzello's wonderful life looks like." Joe declined per usual, but this time he hugged Ben. normally Joe wouldn't even let the blonde get near his house. he had no clue why but when they got to Joe's block, that's when they said their goodbye. but this time Ben was standing on the steep steps leading up to Joe's house. they said their goodbyes and Joe walked into his house with a little pep in his step. 

as Ben was walking away from Joe's house shouting erupted from the walls of the building. he thought nothing of it. 


	7. joe (7)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> joe's weekend seems to be more fun than he planned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm #sick so if there's any mistakes I apologise :)

**(tw: mild graphic description of physical and verbal abuse)**

Joe decided to let Ben walk up to his house this time. he knew his mother would not approve of this. the first day Joe had come home late (from not taking the bus) his mother was furious. she drilled him with questions instantly. Joe explained to her that he didn't like taking the bus and that he needed to get more exercise, which mostly wasn't a lie (he hates exercise). she seemed to ease off him after he explained to her but she was still visually angry. Mrs Mazzello walked around the house the rest of the day in a drunken state, slamming almost anything in her way. 

Joe has gotten used to his mother yelling at him when he walks in the door, but this time it was whole other experience. Mrs Mazzello had started yelling at the redhead before he could close the door behind him. he was bombarded with questions about Ben.  _who's that boy you were with huh? he your friend? can't see why anyone would want that. god, I pity him. what was he doing with you? why did you two hug before he left? normal friends don't do that. is he your boyfriend?_ she said the word  _boyfriend_ like it was some sort of curse. 

all the yelling seemed to have summoned the other children of the Mazzello house. Joe's two siblings darted down the stairs, practically stampeding each other. Joe was still standing in the doorway when his siblings reached the kitchen. their mother had been making dinner for them, but with her anger at the moment it was apparent they'd be feeding themselves. 

"no mom," Joe mumbled to the ground. "he's just a friend. he lives close so he just walks home with me." Joe's mother seemed to explode after this answer. she threw her spoon to the ground, causing spaghetti sauce to splatter all over the kitchen tile. the mess she made her angrier. Joe knew he'd have to clean that up later. 

"listen here mister," Joe's mother yelled sternly. she probed her finger violently at Joe's chest. "if I see that  _boy_ at my front door again you're not going to like it," she poked his chest so hard Joe reminded himself to check for bruises later. Joe wanted to ask why she didn't want Ben at her front door, but he knew that'd only end with more bruises. 

John and Mary sat on the bottom step snickering at each other. Joe just noticed they were still watching the situation unfold.  _great now they know about Ben. John's going to have a field day with this one._ Joe thought to himself. Joe's eyes retreated back to the floor while he listened to his mother scold him for another twenty minutes until he was sent off to his room.

Joe was more than relieved to be sent to his room. that was the only spot he felt remotely safe and even then he had the fear of his brother running in there and socking him in the face. Joe's sister Mary was much different from John. she, from a lack of better words, turned out  _better_ than John. shes a bit older than Joe, just about two years. she definitely doesn't beat her brother up, but she's an expert in verbal abuse. Mary enjoys taunting him about his sexuality and she's extremely good at mocking him. she doesn't bother him as much as John though.

 

000

 

at around 5:30 pm Joe exits his safe spot to get some dinner. he was positive that his mother had left to her room to drink and/or sleep. when he reached the bottom of the stairs he saw her sitting down at the small, beaten up dinner table they own. the family never ate there, so Joe was instantly interested in why his mother was sitting there. Joe's curious side wanted to know what was going on, but his anxious side told him to run back up to his room and wait another hour or so. his curious side won though, and he walked quietly to the small dining room. before he approached his mother Joe looked to the right and took a glance into his kitchen. the spaghetti was still splattered all over the white tile. he audibly sighed and turned back to his left, facing his mother. 

"m, mom?" Joe's voice was shaking. he couldn't tell if his mother was sober or not, but he suspected she wasn't. "mom?" he tried again. he was walking closer to the older woman. 

"Joe." she said sternly. "why aren't you in your room?" she asked, not even looking up from the empty bowl that sat in front of her. 

Joe didn't want to answer that question. she sounded  _so_ angry with him that he feared that anything he said would cause him a  _punishment._ he sighed and thought of the most reasonable answer. "I was hungry. so I thought maybe I could make some ramen or something." Joe's voice quivered pathetically. he felt his hands and legs shake with fear, but he tried to hide it. 

"Joe come here," his mother slurred. Joe sighed,  _here it is._ he dreaded this. the beatings never hurt that much when they first happened, maybe for a minute or two he ached. but it was the mornings after that it was  _bad._ terrible aches. sometimes he hurt so much he couldn't get up in the morning, which only made his mother angrier. 

Joe shuffled his feet closer to his mother. he was now right next to her. when he reached her right she looked up at him for the first time. her eyes were glazed over from her drinking and she had a cocky smile across her face. Joe immediately noticed this. she wasn't normally smiley. she was an angry drunk, not a funny one. Joe studied her face more. dark circles lined the bottom of her eyes, and age lines detailed her ageing face. "Joe don't be so silly," she  _giggled._ "I made spaghetti." she pointed to the pot that still sat on one of the stove burners. " I think it's still warm, go get a bowl and go back to your room, you're still in trouble you know," she slurred. Joe couldn't understand this behaviour at all. normally she'd leave making dinner to her children. if they didn't make dinner for themselves, they didn't eat. 

"okay... mom," Joe hesitated as he walked away from his drunken mother slowly. she didn't say a word to him after that.

 

000

_saturday morning_

 

Joe woke up later than he ever had. the time was about 12:30, meaning he had over 12 hours of sleep. surprisingly the redhead didn't feel refreshed and awake, he felt utterly exhausted. silently wishing he didn't wake up, Joe reached for his boxy phone. he pressed the home button and scanned through the notifications on his home screen. there was much more than there normally were. confused, Joe opened his Imessgae and started scrolling through his messages. 

_**Ben** added **Joe Mazzello** to your group_

_************** _

_ben what the fuck_

_************** _

_Yeah, what have we said about adding more people to this group?_

**_Ben_ **

_guys, it's okay it's just Joe_

_be nice he might still be sleeping._

_************** _

_ben what if I don't wanna be nice??_

_**ben** _

_Rami no one cares_

 

Joe laughed as he clicked on Rami's phone number and added it into his phone. he needed to be able to tell the difference of the people in the group chat. Joe scrolled all the way back down to the end of the chat, not feeling the need to read  _all_ of the previous messages. 

**_you_ **

_hey guys, it's Joe. I have no clue who most of these people are,, can u all introduce urselfs in the chat so I can add u?_

 

Joe hesitated before he hit send. he didn't want to come off weird to the people he hasn't met yet. being put into a group chat with the whole football team (probably) was a huge deal for an outcast like Joe.  no one read his message right away so Joe put down his phone and got up from his bed. he was pretty uncomfortable and covered in a cold sweat. he concluded a shower was the best thing for him. 

Joe walked off to the bathroom, knowing no one would be in his way. his mother was at work, his brother, most likely on the ground level playing video games, and Joe knew his sister was in her room talking to her friends on the phone. when he got to the bathroom he closed and locked the door behind him. he's been doing this (locking the door) since his brother one time barged into the secluded room and ripped open the shower curtains. he proceeded to slap Joe as hard as he could. John may not be the brightest but he knew that slapping someone when they were wet hurt like a bitch. and hell, he was right. Joe wasn't just in pain after the incident but he was humiliated as well. since then he made sure he locked the door. 

Joe slowly undressed and hopped into the shower. he knew not to turn the water too hot because if the water bill is too high his mother would take it out on him, so he settled with a lukewarm shower. the whole time he was showering he thought of the beautiful Ben Hardy. he couldn't stop thinking of him. there was something special about that man that Joe couldn't lay his finger on. maybe it was the fact that he gave Joe a chance when no one else would? he might never know. but he just couldn't keep his mind off the blonde. 

the redhead finished his shower quickly and retreated to his bedroom to get dressed. Joe picked out a beaten up band t-shirt (Lep Zep this time, Joe has a good music taste) and a pair of slightly baggy blue jeans. his head perked up when he heard his phone ding about five times in one minute, once again, something that doesn't happen very often. 

 

**_**********_ **

_Hey nerd, it's Gwilym._

_************** _

_it's allen bro what's up_

**_rami_ **

_hey man, it's rami_

_************** _

_omg hey, Joe! it's Lucy! I'm Rami's girlfriend!_

**_ben_ **

_oi mate, I better already be in your phone I'll be angry if I'm not_

 

Joe smiled widely at his phone again and started typing out a message.

 

**_you_ **

_oh hey Gwil, Allen and Rami. also hello Lucy, nice to meet u, we haven't talked in person have we? and yes Ben, ur in my phone already don't worry._

_**ben** _

_hell yeah man_

**_lucy_ **

_we haven't talk irl! but we should :)_

_talked*_

**_gwil_ **

_how has your day been Joe?_

**_you_ **

_my day has been good so far I guess. I just woke up so I don't really have anything exciting to say. what about u Gwil?_

 

Joe couldn't be more excited about his new  _friends._ well, he hoped they were his friends. Lucy seemed like she was terribly nice so Joe looked forward to talking to her on Monday. Joe and the group texted for a while before most of them had to get offline. Joe lied and admitted he had to leave as well because he was busy (he wasn't) and went offline with the others. 

all of a sudden his weekend wasn't a bust. 


	8. joe (8)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ben figures something out about joe

the rest of Joe's weekend wasn't much different. he sat on his phone, texting Ben and the entirety of the football team. for a whole day, Joe felt loved by a group of people, and that was a change. his weekend didn't stay as memorable though. from the distraction of his phone and his newfound friends, Joe forgot a whole day of chores. which, in his house was equivalent to missing a whole month of chores. per usual, his mother was not happy, and ultimately he left the house on Monday with a large purple mark on his right eye. 

Joe didn't know how to explain his the new group of friends how the bruise appeared. normally he just told Ben it was from a random person from the football team (even if it wasn't) and he would just lie and say he didn't know their name. but now that the whole team is on his side he had no excuse. Joe didn't want people knowing about his abuse. if the news somehow got to a teacher his mother could be locked up, and she's all he's got, financially. without her, it's him, and his siblings on the streets. or in a foster home, Joe couldn't decide what was worse. 

brushing off his anxiety, Joe hopped up onto the steep bus stairs. the offensive shouts had lessened since he had gotten a little more "popular". but they were still there. this time though, he heard nothing. nothing directed at him that is. slightly relieved the redhead popped in his earbuds and pressed play on his phone. he calmly listened to loud music until the bus pulled up to his school.

000

Joe didn't see Ben till his 1fst period, so he had about 5 minutes to think of an excuse for the bruise.  _I ran into a door? no, too cliche, Ben would see right through it. brother threw something at my face? maybe. he might still not believe me. he might think I'm trying to one of his friendships._ Joe thought while he walked to class. he wasn't able to decide on one, so he concluded that he'd tell Ben and only Ben. 

he walked into class extremely early without even realising. the classroom was practically empty, but he sat down anyway. as students started filling the classroom, and the bell was set to ring in about 2 minutes. anxiety started to boil in his stomach. Joe couldn't stop thinking of the outcomes of telling someone about his home situation. Ben wouldn't tell anyone about it if Joe requested him not to. but Joe was sure if things got worse, he'd feel obligated to keep the redhead safe. that's what worried him the most. sometimes the marks left on his body were severe, but his mother hadn't lashed out since he met Ben, so the blonde hasn't seen the worst of it. 

the bell rang, indicating that it was 7:30. Ben walked in right as the tone echoed through the classrooms. the two boys caught eye contact right away, and clear confusion and worry painted Ben's soft face. without saying anything, Ben walked to his seat before their grumpy teacher called him out. while their maths teacher took attendance Ben turned around, concern and obvious anger laced into his face. "what happened? who did this Joe?" Ben asked, his eyes filled with pity. this was Joe's moment. he had to say something. and he couldn't lie to Ben.

"I'm alright Ben, it's fine." was all he said instead. he wasn't 100% lying. he was alright, physically. but the situation wasn't fine. Joe knew that Ben would have to find out somehow. "it's just a little mark it's okay."  _damn._ Joe  _did_  want to tell Ben. he wanted someone to know, he just  _couldn't_ let something that serious get out. he didn't want to have 0 parents instead of just one. 

Ben furrowed his brow and reached out to gently touch Joe's cheek. with that, Joe flinched under Ben's light touch. the bruise was fresh, and it was hurting more than it did when he woke up. Joe wanted to cover it up with some of Mary's makeup, but she had a darker skin tone than he did, and he ended up looking like a Halloween mask. so he scratched that idea. "Joe, this isn't fine, who hit you?" Ben pryed. Joe didn't blame him. he would've been annoyed with anyone else who asked him multiple questions. but it was Ben, you can't annoyed with him. 

Joe sat in silence for a few more seconds. he decided to speak up. he was going to tell Ben, but their maths teacher interrupted them. "Boys, we're doing our work yes?" she spoke loudly. the whole class shifted to their direction, causing Joe to turn red. their teacher had a smile on her face. she was an old lady that took pleasure in embarrassing her students so this brought her great joy. 

Ben glared at the older woman. "no, sorry ma'am, we'll get to work. I just had a few questions for Joe." the teacher, who was clearly surprised by Ben's politeness, nodded and left them to themselves again. "Joe please tell me." 

Joe sighed audibly and looked Ben square in the eyes. "It, it was my mom okay?" Joe said. he looked down, avoiding eye contact with the Englishman in front of him. "It's really okay though, it doesn't even hurt. I'm alright." Joe looked up to resume his eye contact with the other. Ben's face had softened. his eyes showed nothing but pity and concern. "a, and I don't want your pity or anything." Joe spoke up before Ben could speak again. "please don't tell anyone." 

"Joe, this isn't alright," Ben finally spoke after he processed everything. "it's not right for your mum to hit you," Ben pointed out. Joe knew this. he didn't at first. when his mother started hitting him he assumed it was something all mothers did. but when his elementary teachers seemed concerned when he continued to show up to his classes with bruises he started to grow suspicious of the activity in his home. 

"Ben, I'm aware my mother shouldn't be doing this." Joe clarified. "but there's nothing I can do." Joe sighed and broke their eye contact again. Ben rested a reassuring hand on Joe's shoulder as if to apologise. the redhead leaned into his touch. 

their conversation was forgotten after that. they realised that had only 15 minutes left of class and they had plenty of work due. 

"don't tell the guys please," Joe requested as they were walking out of the classroom. Ben only nodded, his hand rested on Joe's shoulder once again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is hella medicore


End file.
